Hawks Headlines: Team Tries to Overcome Clunker vs. Wild

Also, Brandon Saad celebrated his 21st birthday over the weekend

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In Monday’s edition of Hawks Headlines, we take a look at the continued maturation of Brandon Saad as he turns 21 years old, as well as the struggles of the Blackhawks’ penalty killing unit as they try to replace Michael Frolik.

- Michal Handzus missed the Hawks’ loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night, but it doesn’t appear that he will be getting back into the lineup before Saturday at the earliest when the Hawks travel to Winnipeg. [Daily Herald]

- The Blackhawks coughed up yet another power play goal to the Wild on Saturday night, and continue to be one of the worst penalty killing units in the league. Is there any way to stop the carnage? [CSN Chicago]

- In that same vein, Scott Powers takes a look at how the team has tried to plug in a slew of players into the role that Michael Frolik filled for the Hawks, with Brad Mills being the latest guy to be inserted into the lineup. [ESPN Chicago]

- The team’s lackluster effort may be masked by the fact that they only lost by two goals against the Wild on Saturday, and Greg Boysen has a good hard look at the clunker of a game for Chicago. [Second City Hockey]

- One player who was particularly flummoxed by the Hawks’ dismal effort in that game was captain Jonathan Toews, and he really let the team have it during his postgame press conference, as Mark Lazerus reports. [Chicago Sun-Times]

- Brandon Saad celebrated his 21st birthday on Sunday, and through the season’s first 11 games, the youngster has shown that he is really maturing during his second full NHL season. [Chicago Tribune]

- Speaking of young Blackhawks players and prospects, the team’s AHL affiliate Rockford IceHogs has been really tearing up the league as of late. They jumped into first place in the Western Conference with a win over the Texas Stars on Sunday night. [ChicagoBlackhawks.com]